I’ve been to Dent only once, on a whistle stop weekend to the North Yorkshire Dales. It’s a living breathing Warburton’s ad, except Land Rovers rumble and bumble (depending on the age of their reg plate) across cobbles where flat-capped knee-socked boys should be cycling home, peddling against gravity and the extra weight of bakers fresh, crusty loaves.

I’d always assumed it was a forgotten Yorkshire village, one of those quaint border settlements that nonchalantly gets on with life amidst the whims of policy makers and county councils who can’t decide exactly which authority should be organising the bin rounds.

Dent Rescewe - premium bitter raising money for the Cave Rescue Organisation in the Yorkshire Dales

Dent Rescewe was picked up on the way home from a separate excursion to the North Yorkshire Dales, saved from the shelves of Booths, arguably the supermarket with not only the best regional selection of beer, but the best beer aisles full stop.

This bottle is a re-brand of their premium bitter, created to support the Cave Rescue Organisation in the Yorkshire Dales, so we excuse the pun in the name on the grounds of good cause.

Rescewe immediately consolidates it’s description with it’s deep copper colour laced with a thin head of swirling bubbles. A caramelised nose, gentle bitterness and lasting mineral dryness mean it’s best described as a perfectly good (but perfectly interchangeable) bitter. The key note speakers are earthy hops and malt roasted beyond pale, influences that impart faint traces of fruit, toffee, farmhouse kitchen and rural elbow grease.

Don’t expect anything but a beer for a local pub; a beer that is adequate refreshment for a days labour or a mornings Dale walking or an afternoon of sightseeing; drunk seated on a wooden bench in a pub no more than a cobble stone’s throw from the spring where Dent source their brewing water, and within earshot of the sheepdogs and rattling bicycles (or Land Rovers) outside.

Beer information:
Beer: Rescewe
Brewery: Dent
Style: Bitter
ABV: 4.2%
Country: Cumbria, UK

Bass in The Bank

The Bank is what I would dub a Weatherspoons rip-off. The breakfast menu was almost identical to Weatherspoons and the range of beers available was similar. I was therefore able to order a pint of Bass to go with my Americano and Large Breakfast. I couldn’t  remember whether I’d ever actually  had Bass before but I knew that it used to be very popular with my Dad’s friends out of  a can. The lightness suited accompanying a large meal and my initial impression was of an relatively sweet toffee flavour but this was tempered by the development of a more peppery body. The existence of these flavours was I think testament to how well the ale was kept and I have since been disappointed when having the same pint at The Wobbly Wheel near Banbury where none of these subtly complex flavours appeared from ‘the same’ pint.

This accolade cannot be bestowed on The Roebuck which was our next point of call. Perhaps suffering from being amongst the  pre-lunch drinkers but I didn’t feel that either of the ales I tried in here were being served to their full potential. The Magpie Best, from the local Magpie Brewery, should have presented a decent hoppy flavour but offered no distinctive flavours, equally the Marstons Burton Bitter offered a coppery flavour rather than the ‘delicate hops and malty biscuit’ that the brewer headlines.

My notes for the Day were avidly kept in here

After the disappointment of The Roebuck I nearly hung up the diary for the day, luckily I didn’t. We were just about to enter the best pub of the day. The Bell Inn is part of the Greene King group but had an extensive range of Nottingham Brewing Company ales. I could easily have stayed in the place all day to sample the wide range of draught and bottled tipples that would have tickled the fancy of almost everyone I know. Erdinger and Hoegarden, Aspalls Cider, the already mentioned Nottingham Brewery Ales all accompanied the Greene King offerings.

I sampled the Nottingham Brewery Legend, which has a strong malty flavour. Far and away eclipsing the two ales I had had in the last pub. Next my day got the Hop blast I was waiting for with the Extra Pale, the hops not necessarily being extra strong but being brought to the fore by the subtle complimentary body of the ale. Finally I tasted Cock & Hoop which was not as prominently hopped as the Extra Pale and it brought in a more complex flavour with vanilla notes. My final drink in The Bell was a Greene King XX Mild. This beer was a lovely dark mild sweet and smooth to fully release the deep malt flavours. This was really drinkable and my glass was empty in super quick time.

The Bell Inn serving local beers

The last pub of the day was The Dragon which served Adnams Bitter and Broadside but is not an Adnams pub. Details of the pub can be found on their website, the place is quite small and narrow and reminded me a bit of Leeds’ North Bar. I opted first for a Broadside as it had recently been suggested against a post I had written about Old Hooky as a similar tipple.

Castle Rock, another local ale in Nottingham's pubs

I found the beer to be quite floral and light in flavour although quite heavy in texture and probably not a beer I would go back to as a ‘session ale’. I could therefore see the similarities suggested to Old Hooky, however I do not feel the flavours have the same rich spiciness. The final beer of the the day was to be a Castle Rock Brewery Harvest Pale. The Landlady told me that she sells a lot of this Blonde Beer, I can see why.  A little hoppy but very crisp and drinkable, especially when returning to a lighter beer from the Broadside. This would be a great way in for anyone looking to flirt with Hops or a quality session option for more Hop Hungry drinkers. It is also available bottled.

And so the diary was retired and evening bars were explored. It was great to have a day out somewhere different and explore the ales of the Nottingham area. Some of those that I tried weren’t to my taste and some were a joy to my taste buds. Writing about the day the main thing that comes to mind, and is very much to my taste, was the amount of locally produced ales available in Nottingham City Centre.  I would recommend a trail day out in Nottingham to any beer explorer, if my experience is anything to go by you won’t have to go far to get a flavour of the place.

Well one Oxfordshire brewer has taken on the challenge to create the world’s bitterest beer, and his strategy: yeah you guessed it, he’s thrown a silly amount of hops into his brew.

Pitstop Brewery are hoping to hit the Guinness Book of World Records with their bitter bitter

Pete Fowler of the Pitstop Brewery near Wantage rose to the occasion after a friend reckoned he couldn’t match the bitterness of US craft beers, and in Mr Fowler’s words ‘that was like red rag to a bull’. The beer (or barley wine) has over £100s worth of hops plus additional hop additives for one 9 barrel keg of the beer compared to a usual £5 worth.

Bearing in mind the brewer himself hasn’t tried it yet and is expecting it to be in the region of 500 IBUs* (a theoretical number which scares the pants of my tastebuds) it raises interesting questions on innovation (or should I say ‘innovation’).

Is this an ‘extreme beer’? Or is it simply a boisterous take on the traditional British bitter, tongue in cheek and one finger up to the extremists? Or just a bit of fun?!

Let’s compare to Tactical Nuclear Penguin which seems to have been a success so far for BrewDog. They’ve brewed it to push boundaries and simply because they can, which the beer loving world are mostly praising. Is it drinkable? It’s an acquired taste I reckon, it’s as smooth and drinkable as an Imperial Stout aged for a few years and I admire BrewDog for making it and laying the gaunlet down for brewers to push the boat out further.

So should we take Mr Fowler’s brew in the same light, or not take it too seriously and be guilty of pandering to BrewDog because they are glamourous and modern?

The deciding factor will be if throwing a load of hops into an English bitter makes a good beer? I wouldn’t sit down on an evening with Tactical Nuclear Penguin, but I enjoyed the experience. I guess the only way I’ll know with this one is to give it a go and taste it when the beer goes on sale at the Royal Oak in Wantage (from late January).

If I still lived in Oxfordshire I’d be making a short hop down past Oxford one evening, but unfortunately I can’t justify the trip from West Yorkshire, so I’ll have to rely on someone else’s tasting notes.

I’ll leave you with Garrett Olivers’s words, which seem kinda relevant:

“The hoppiest beer? It’s a fairly idiotic pursuit, like a chef saying, ‘This is the saltiest dish.’ Anyone can toss hops in a pot, but can you make it beautiful?”

If Pitstop Brewery get the record the real test will be if the beer actually tastes any good, but you have to admire the balls of a small brewery to give it a go. As a bit of fun, it’s got them a nice news story, as a serious pursuit, the proof will be in the pudding.

Sam enjoys a pint of Acorn in Leeds' Victoria Hotel

The look of the pint oozes tradition, right from the off-white, fluffy head down to the dark ruby colour of the body. There is a strong coffee-esque aroma with a hint of Hazelnut noticable as well.

The taste follows the scent perfectly; a strong roasted coffee flavour leads on to a warm bitter aftertaste that defies it’s session ale ABV of 3.8%.

The sensation of the first drink reminds me much of the early-morning caffine rush, often required to get through that Monday morning feeling. It’s a great, satisfying feeling.

The remainder of the pint, unfortunately, never quite hits that high and whilst it remains a good, well-produced bitter with enough to make it stand out from some of the more run-of-the-mill offerings, there wasn’t quite enough to make me want a second pint amongst the competition available at the pump-rich bar at the Vic.

On reviewing Summer Pale, I commented that it was perfect for drinking in the season during which it sells. As we roll into autumn and winter, Acorn Brewery produce a bitter that is definitely a first pint to recommend to warm the cockles.

First up, Greene King’s ‘Ruddle’s County’ a dark ruby ale with a sweet nose, a slighty fruity aroma that gives away a hoppy essense (Brambling Cross hops according to the bottle).

The impressive part once in the mouth is just how smooth this beer is for a bottled product; limited carbonisation suggests that a cask version of this product could not possibly be much smoother. An uncommon thing in many mass-produced bottled beers in my experience.

The aftertaste is particularly strong, and the alcohol in the ale is particularly prominant, leaving a bitter aftertaste that lingers a little too long in the throat to be considered a treat.

Reflecting on the finished bottle, it almost felt like the beer had not been left to mature quite long enough, causing a sensation that, quite frankly, left my throat burning slightly in the similar manner that a weak spirit of some form might.

Next up was a total contrast: Badger’s ‘Golden Champion’. The ‘Golden’ part of the name is not ironic; the liquid is certainly that, pale and transparent, as opposed to deep and opague.

As soon as the beer hits the glass a torrent of fresh, fruity aroma is released – traces of mango, orange and particularly peach are all there like a tropical cacaphony waiting to impact the mouth as it does the nose.

The same flavours are all present, with the overall effect reminding me immediately, strangely enough, of the Refreshers sweets of my youth. Passing the glass round with the suggestion gave a couple of agreeing responses.

One of the features of fruit-based beers, I have found, is the ‘softness’ in the mouthfeel and this is definately present here. Very light carbonisation makes this go down a treat. The flavours make for a particularly invigorating aftertaste that soon fades away.

I often find such ales a little too sweet for my liking and although I enjoyed this enormously and would have another in future without a second thought, I wouldn’t personally consider this to be a session beer. However this is a must for anyone with a sweet tooth.

With England comfortably in the lead, the final drink I had almost felt like a celebration. However J.W. Lees ‘John Willies Premium Bitter’ didn’t really reflect my euphoria at the promise of having a televisual feast to look forward to next June.

This is a traditional bitter with a malty, down-to-earth scent and typical dark ruby colouring that looks nice in the glass and certainly enticing.

However I found it hard to find the words to describe the flavours that came out at me. Instead, I was only able to describe this as a ‘heavy’ beer; one that doesn’t sit too comfortably in the stomach once consumed. From beginning to end, I found it hard to pinpoint anything truly unique and memorable about the ale.

Perhaps it may require another tasting at the front end of a session, but in all honesty there was nothing about the beer that particularly excited me and after the experience of ‘Golden Champion’ earlier, it was a disappointment.

So the football provided a champagne performance by England, but it will be the beers that I’ll be looking forward to come June.

Punk IPA was the first BrewDog beer I ever came across, on the supermarket shelves of Tesco, Lincoln whilst Sarah was living there earlier this year.

I’ve had it a few times but never written anything, and it’s not far off being in that category of beers that are the hardest to review – those you’ve had many times before.

The first thing that struck me on the first taste back one Friday in Lincoln, and again yesterday when I picked it out specifically for review from my all new beer cupboard, was it’s North American influences. Having mulled over US reviews of Punk IPA, many people comment how English it is, so I guess they might get quite a shock if they picked up a pint of Greene King on tap! The revival of IPA by craft breweries in the States has led to some notable IPA interest in the UK, and in Punk IPA there’s a clear swing towards the US style of IPA , one much more floral and aromatic than those of it’s homeland.

Punk IPA by Brewdog - transatlantic India Pale Ale

Excluding the ‘real’ IPAs of the 19th Century, the style was somewhat lost (and found again in Halcyon, White Shield and a few other notable UK examples), and Punk IPA is another great, if slightly less traditional (or should I say ‘post-modern’!) addition from an innovative Scottish brewery.

That said Punk IPA isn’t as innovative as some of BrewDog’s recent brews (although that probably says more about how fantastic their recent beers have been) but it is damn good.

A floral aroma starts what is actually quite a bitter, spicy beer when you first taste it. There is an abundance of fruit in here further down the glass and something that I wouldn’t expect in the average IPA (I’m told it’s caramel but my taste buds can’t quite pick that up!).

Punk is uncompromising and in that sense, it is very distinctive in supermarket shelves here (perhaps so as much when sat next to Stone or Dogfish bottles though?). It is hoppy with a malty aftertaste – just the way I like an IPA – that grows, nay, develops as you drink it. It’s difficult to drink Punk slowly, but you should, because if you do the taste builds up like sedimentary rocks (ok, not quite as slow!) into a layered and complex aftertaste – where those spices, fruit and bitterness really come to life when topped up with a fresh gulp on top.

BrewDog’s Punk IPA is a great beer that you could drink a few off on a Saturday night. Not a merchant ship in sight on the bottle, but at 6% it does hark back in some ways to a time gone by. It’s highly drinkable, with US influences but firmly rooted in UK tradition.